{"id":786,"date":"2016-03-09T13:51:33","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T17:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/biochemistry\/?post_type=dt_team&#038;p=786"},"modified":"2023-03-10T13:59:45","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T17:59:45","slug":"dr-abel-baerga-ortiz","status":"publish","type":"dt_team","link":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/biochemistry\/dt_team\/dr-abel-baerga-ortiz\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Abel Baerga Ortiz"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]<div id=\"ultimate-heading-40169d1d82cbdebc\" class=\"uvc-heading ult-adjust-bottom-margin ultimate-heading-40169d1d82cbdebc uvc-7629 accent-subtitle-color\" data-hspacer=\"no_spacer\"  data-halign=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left\"><div class=\"uvc-heading-spacer no_spacer\" style=\"top\"><\/div><div class=\"uvc-main-heading ult-responsive\"  data-ultimate-target='.uvc-heading.ultimate-heading-40169d1d82cbdebc h2'  data-responsive-json-new='{\"font-size\":\"desktop:30px;mobile_landscape:34px;\",\"line-height\":\"desktop:40px;mobile_landscape:44px;\"}' ><h2 style=\"font-weight:bold;color:#0a0a0a;margin-bottom:10px;\">Dr. Abel Baerga Ortiz<\/h2><\/div><div class=\"uvc-sub-heading ult-responsive\"  data-ultimate-target='.uvc-heading.ultimate-heading-40169d1d82cbdebc .uvc-sub-heading '  data-responsive-json-new='{\"font-size\":\"desktop:18px;mobile_landscape:20px;\",\"line-height\":\"desktop:34px;mobile_landscape:30px;\"}'  style=\"font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:30px;\">Professor<\/div><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row_content&#8221; bg_type=&#8221;bg_color&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;]<div class=\"ult-content-box-container \" >\t\t<div class=\"ult-content-box\" style=\"background-color:#545454;box-shadow: px px px px none;border-style:solid;border-width:5px;border-radius:5px;border-color:#545454;padding:10px;-webkit-transition: all 700ms ease;-moz-transition: all 700ms ease;-ms-transition: all 700ms ease;-o-transition: all 700ms ease;transition: all 700ms ease;\"  data-hover_box_shadow=\"none\"     data-bg=\"#545454\"  data-border_color=\"#545454\" ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-type=\"the7_shortcodes-inline-css\">.shortcode-single-image-wrap.shortcode-single-image-0667e66f23572be96e96c010b209a4ef.enable-bg-rollover .rollover i,\n.shortcode-single-image-wrap.shortcode-single-image-0667e66f23572be96e96c010b209a4ef.enable-bg-rollover .rollover-video i {\n  background: -webkit-linear-gradient();\n  background: linear-gradient();\n}\n.shortcode-single-image-wrap.shortcode-single-image-0667e66f23572be96e96c010b209a4ef .rollover-icon {\n  font-size: 32px;\n  color: #ffffff;\n  min-width: 44px;\n  min-height: 44px;\n  line-height: 44px;\n  border-radius: 100px;\n  border-style: solid;\n  border-width: 0px;\n}\n.dt-icon-bg-on.shortcode-single-image-wrap.shortcode-single-image-0667e66f23572be96e96c010b209a4ef .rollover-icon {\n  background: rgba(255,255,255,0.3);\n  box-shadow: none;\n}<\/style><div class=\"shortcode-single-image-wrap shortcode-single-image-0667e66f23572be96e96c010b209a4ef alignnone  enable-bg-rollover dt-icon-bg-off\" style=\"margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px; width:300px;\"><div class=\"shortcode-single-image\"><div class=\"fancy-media-wrap  layzr-bg\" style=\"\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"preload-me lazy-load aspect\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D&#39;http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg&#39;%20viewBox%3D&#39;0%200%20300%20300&#39;%2F%3E\" data-src=\"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/biochemistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2016\/03\/ABEL.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/biochemistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2016\/03\/ABEL.jpg 300w\" loading=\"eager\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\"  data-dt-location=\"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/biochemistry\/dt_team\/dr-abel-baerga-ortiz\/abel\/\" style=\"--ratio: 300 \/ 300;\" alt=\"Dr. Abel Baerga Ortiz\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div>[vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]<span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><strong>Contact Info<\/strong><\/span>[\/vc_column_text]<div class=\"uavc-list-icon uavc-list-icon-wrapper ult-adjust-bottom-margin   \"><ul class=\"uavc-list\"><li><div class=\"uavc-list-content\" id=\"list-icon-wrap-7060\">\n<div class=\"uavc-list-icon  \" data-animation=\"\" data-animation-delay=\"03\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><div class=\"ult-just-icon-wrapper  \"><div class=\"align-icon\" style=\"text-align:center;\">\n<div class=\"aio-icon none \"  style=\"color:#ffffff;font-size:32px;display:inline-block;\">\n\t<i class=\"icomoon-the7-font-the7-mail-03\"><\/i>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><span  data-ultimate-target='#list-icon-wrap-7060 .uavc-list-desc'  data-responsive-json-new='{\"font-size\":\"\",\"line-height\":\"\"}'  class=\"uavc-list-desc ult-responsive\" style=\"\"><\/span><\/div><\/li><li><div class=\"uavc-list-content\" id=\"list-icon-wrap-3709\">\n<div class=\"uavc-list-icon  \" data-animation=\"\" data-animation-delay=\"03\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><div class=\"ult-just-icon-wrapper  \"><div class=\"align-icon\" style=\"text-align:center;\">\n<div class=\"aio-icon none \"  style=\"color:#ffffff;font-size:32px;display:inline-block;\">\n\t<i class=\"icomoon-the7-font-the7-map-05\"><\/i>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><span  data-ultimate-target='#list-icon-wrap-3709 .uavc-list-desc'  data-responsive-json-new='{\"font-size\":\"\",\"line-height\":\"\"}'  class=\"uavc-list-desc ult-responsive\" style=\"\"><\/span><\/div><\/li><li><div class=\"uavc-list-content\" id=\"list-icon-wrap-7131\">\n<div class=\"uavc-list-icon  \" data-animation=\"\" data-animation-delay=\"03\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><div class=\"ult-just-icon-wrapper  \"><div class=\"align-icon\" style=\"text-align:center;\">\n<div class=\"aio-icon none \"  style=\"color:#ffffff;font-size:32px;display:inline-block;\">\n\t<i class=\"icomoon-the7-font-the7-phone-071\"><\/i>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><span  data-ultimate-target='#list-icon-wrap-7131 .uavc-list-desc'  data-responsive-json-new='{\"font-size\":\"\",\"line-height\":\"\"}'  class=\"uavc-list-desc ult-responsive\" style=\"\"><\/span><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>[vc_column_text]<strong><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Education<\/span><\/strong>[\/vc_column_text]<div class=\"standard-arrow list-divider bullet-top\"><ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Post Doctoral Fellowship in Biochemistry, 2005 University of Cambridge<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">h.D. University of California &#8211; San Diego, 2001<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">MS University of California &#8211; San Diego, 1998<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">BA Bachillerato en Ciencias (Qu\u00edmica), 1996<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\t\t<\/div><\/div>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;3\/4&#8243;]<div id=\"ultimate-heading-36969d1d82cbebd8\" class=\"uvc-heading ult-adjust-bottom-margin ultimate-heading-36969d1d82cbebd8 uvc-9943  uvc-heading-default-font-sizes\" data-hspacer=\"no_spacer\"  data-halign=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left\"><div class=\"uvc-heading-spacer no_spacer\" style=\"top\"><\/div><div class=\"uvc-main-heading ult-responsive\"  data-ultimate-target='.uvc-heading.ultimate-heading-36969d1d82cbebd8 h3'  data-responsive-json-new='{\"font-size\":\"\",\"line-height\":\"\"}' ><h3 style=\"font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:30px;\">Biography<\/h3><\/div><div class=\"uvc-sub-heading ult-responsive\"  data-ultimate-target='.uvc-heading.ultimate-heading-36969d1d82cbebd8 .uvc-sub-heading '  data-responsive-json-new='{\"font-size\":\"\",\"line-height\":\"\"}'  style=\"font-weight:normal;\">Abel Baerga-Ortiz has a BA in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico; a PhD in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) and was a Royal Society Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cambridge.<\/div><\/div>[vc_empty_space]<div id=\"ultimate-heading-755269d1d82cbec2b\" class=\"uvc-heading ult-adjust-bottom-margin ultimate-heading-755269d1d82cbec2b uvc-3399  uvc-heading-default-font-sizes\" data-hspacer=\"no_spacer\"  data-halign=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left\"><div class=\"uvc-heading-spacer no_spacer\" style=\"top\"><\/div><div class=\"uvc-main-heading ult-responsive\"  data-ultimate-target='.uvc-heading.ultimate-heading-755269d1d82cbec2b h3'  data-responsive-json-new='{\"font-size\":\"\",\"line-height\":\"\"}' ><h3 style=\"font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:30px;\">Research Interests<\/h3><\/div><div class=\"uvc-sub-heading ult-responsive\"  data-ultimate-target='.uvc-heading.ultimate-heading-755269d1d82cbec2b .uvc-sub-heading '  data-responsive-json-new='{\"font-size\":\"\",\"line-height\":\"\"}'  style=\"font-weight:normal;\">The group of Abel Baerga-Ortiz is interested in describing processes that take place at the interface between chemistry and microbiology. We use a variety of chemical methods for the characterization of natural products made by microorganisms. We also use biochemical methods (protein expression\/purification and mass spectrometry) to elucidate enzyme processes in microorganisms.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bacterial production of fatty acids.\u00a0<\/strong>Large-scale microbial cultures represent an important vehicle for the production of fatty acids and alcohols, both of which can be further processed to make biofuels. A typical strategy for enhancing the production of fatty acids consists of re-engineering the bacterial metabolic pathways by introducing or deleting specific genes. Our group has reported that introducing certain genes from deep-sea bacteria can enhance fatty acid production in\u00a0<em>E. coli<\/em>. We are currently working to elucidate how this enhancement in fatty acid production is mediated and whether it can be extended to organisms that aere currently used for commercial production of these valuable compounds.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pro-inflammatory bacterial genes and colorectal cancer.\u00a0<\/strong>Many research efforts are focused on elucidating the role of the gut microbiota in the promotion of intestinal diseases such as colorectal cancer. Our group has centered in developing methods for the quick and inexpensive detection of specific bacterial genes in stool samples. As part of this effort, we have found in human stool, a number of bacterial genes that have been previously associated with inflammation in other tissues such as kidney and skin. The presence of these pro-inflammatory genes in the human gut and their increased frequency in colorectal cancer patients, suggest a possible link between harboring these genes and the risk of cancer. We are currently exploring possible mechanisms by which these genes may promote inflammation in the GI tract.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The glycan distribution of viral glycoprotein-based vaccines.\u00a0<\/strong>The Env glycoprotein from the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the template for a number of vaccine candidates currently under development. It contains 27 glycosylation sites and more than half of its molecular weight is attributable to sugars. Our laboratory is developing MALDI-ToF\/ToF methods for the measurement of the glycan composition of HIV Env and its clinically relevant versions.<\/div><\/div>[vc_empty_space]<div id=\"ultimate-heading-127069d1d82cbec71\" class=\"uvc-heading ult-adjust-bottom-margin ultimate-heading-127069d1d82cbec71 uvc-7947  uvc-heading-default-font-sizes\" data-hspacer=\"no_spacer\"  data-halign=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left\"><div class=\"uvc-heading-spacer no_spacer\" style=\"top\"><\/div><div class=\"uvc-main-heading ult-responsive\"  data-ultimate-target='.uvc-heading.ultimate-heading-127069d1d82cbec71 h3'  data-responsive-json-new='{\"font-size\":\"\",\"line-height\":\"\"}' ><h3 style=\"font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:30px;\">Selected Publications:<\/h3><\/div><div class=\"uvc-sub-heading ult-responsive\"  data-ultimate-target='.uvc-heading.ultimate-heading-127069d1d82cbec71 .uvc-sub-heading '  data-responsive-json-new='{\"font-size\":\"\",\"line-height\":\"\"}'  style=\"font-weight:normal;\"><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Gonz\u00e1lez-Feliciano JA, Akamine P, Cap\u00f3-V\u00e9lez CM, Delgado-V\u00e9lez M, Dussupt V, Krebs SJ, Wojna V, Polonis VR, Baerga-Ortiz A, Lasalde-Dominicci JA.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/32559193\/\">A recombinant gp145 Env glycoprotein from HIV-1 expressed in two different cell lines: Effects on glycosylation and antigenicity.<\/a>PLoS One. 2020 Jun 19;15(6):e0231679.\u00a0doi: 10.1371\/journal.pone.0231679. PMID: 32559193<\/li>\n<li>Rull\u00e1n-Lind C, Ortiz-Rosario M, Garc\u00eda-Gonz\u00e1lez A, Stojanoff V, Chorna NE, Pietri RB, Baerga-Ortiz A.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/31690733\/\">Artificial covalent linkage of bacterial acyl carrier proteins for fatty acid production.\u00a0<\/a>Sci Rep. 2019 Nov 5;9(1):16011. doi: 10.1038\/s41598-019-52344-w. PMID: 31690733<\/li>\n<li>G\u00f3mez-Moreno R, Mart\u00ednez-Ram\u00edrez R, Roche-Lima A, Carrasquillo-Carri\u00f3n K, P\u00e9rez-Santiago J, Baerga-Ortiz A.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/31354787\/\">Hotspots of Sequence Variability in Gut Microbial Genes Encoding Pro-Inflammatory Factors Revealed by Oligotyping.\u00a0<\/a>Front Genet. 2019 Jul 9;10:631. doi: 10.3389\/fgene.2019.00631. PMID: 31354787<\/li>\n<li>G\u00f3mez-Moreno R, Gonz\u00e1lez-Pons M, Soto-Salgado M, Cruz-Correa M, Baerga-Ortiz A.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/30717148\/\">The Presence of Gut Microbial Genes Encoding Bacterial Genotoxins or Pro-Inflammatory Factors in Stool Samples from Individuals with Colorectal Neoplasia.<\/a> 2019 Feb 1;7(1):16. doi: 10.3390\/diseases7010016. PMID: 30717148<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><\/div><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row_content&#8221; bg_type=&#8221;bg_color&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;3\/4&#8243;][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","dt_team_category":[26],"class_list":["post-786","dt_team","type-dt_team","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","dt_team_category-faculty","dt_team_category-26","description-off"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/biochemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dt_team\/786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/biochemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dt_team"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/biochemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/dt_team"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/biochemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/biochemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/biochemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"dt_team_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/biochemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dt_team_category?post=786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}